This is a blog about life. Our life.
Raw, real, messy, beautiful life that decidedly centers on God, marriage, and a story of adoption - with a little bit of food and crafts thrown in.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Well, you can't say I never cook...

As promised, here is my post on BULK cooking!

*I have edited some of the instructions on some of the recipes as requested by a reader. I hope this makes your assembly and cooking a little smoother!*

Basically, this was born out of my guilt over not cooking for my husband. He made a comment in passing that he wished he had more home-cooked meals, and I immediately made up my mind to improve and become the wife he deserved! He is such a sweet, servant-hearted man. We both work full time, and we have such busy schedules in the evenings. I just wasn't getting around to cooking a decent meal on a regular basis. SO - I leeched off of Pinterest, google searches, my friends, and my family for recipes for the crock pot, and I've gone wild with it!

This is my second go at bulk cooking, and I think I'm hooked for life! The first time I attempted this process all on my own. It took me about 4 hours to do eight "meals". Those eight meals lasted us six weeks. (I realize this will be different for each family depending on how many people are in your family) We had plenty of food left over for lunches and leftover dinners. Austin started raving to all of our friends that I was the best wife in the world... So, I knew I was on to something revolutionary! ha. (Thanks for the pat on the back, babe) This time, sweet Austin offered to help! (You know I'm not going to turn that down!!) We spent about 3.5 hours total on the whole process - including shopping, assembling, and cleaning up. We made 13 meals this time! Whew! So, the details:We spent $212 on our groceries (this does not include things I usually have on hand like vinegar, etc), and I am estimating that these meals will last us around 10 weeks. So, roughly $21.50/week. Each helping came out to around $4.00. CHEAP!!! Especially for good home-cooked meals! The BEST part is that we use slow-cooker liners, so there is literally NO clean up for each meal other than the dishes we eat on! AHHH-mazing. As you can see on some of the recipes below, I actually cook some of them in the oven or on the stove top, depending on what we feel like that day.

To assemble: I wrote each recipe in Sharpie on each of the gallon ziploc bags to help me know what to put in each bag. We organized chicken, turkey, and beef on the counter, then started chopping and cutting! We assembled one bag at a time and just dumped everything in each recipe in its designated bag, sealed the bag, and laid it flat in the freezer to allow room for plenty of meals!

If you feel up to it, I TOTALLY recommend it!!! Good luck, and happy assembly!

I am posting the recipes we used below, but first some pictures!

My first completion pic - I was pretty excited!!

Austin was such a trooper about dicing a TON of onions!!

I was in charge of meat and assembly

Look at all of that FOOD!!

I AM IN LOVE WITH MY FREEZER LIKE THIS!!!

Beef Burritos
(6+ servings)

1 London Broil or top round roast (about 2 lbs)

1 diced onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons whole peppercorns

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce – Use just 1 pepper!! (It’s in a can.)

1 ½ teaspoon chili powder (you can adjust this according to your taste)

Add all the above ingredients into a freezer bag.

When you are ready to cook the meal, dump the contents of the bag into the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours.

When the meat is cooked, you will need to strain the juices and add the juice back to the slow cooker. (You want to remove the peppercorns and onions.) Shred the meat and add back to the juice in the slow cooker for about 30 minutes. This is one of our favorite recipes. My kids eat it as long as we have leftovers.

Chicken Fajitas
( 5-6 servings)

1 1/2 pound chicken breast

2 peppers (your favorite)

1 onion

1/2 cup chicken broth

taco seasoning packet

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. salt

You will also need tortillas, cheese, cream, etc.

Put all the ingredients in a large freezer bag. (Make sure you label the bag with instructions.)

When it’s time to cook it, dump it all in your slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.

When it’s cooked, shred the meat and add it back to the pepper mixture and serve on warm tortillas and your favorite toppings.

Can be cooked on the stove-top for 15 minutes if the sauce is drained after thawing, or can be baked in the oven for 35-40 minutes in the sauce. Also, can be cooked in the crock-pot for 6-8 hours on low.

Italian Chicken(serves 4-5)

2 pounds of boneless/skinless chicken breasts

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1/2 Tbsp. chili powder

½ cup water*

1 cup Italian dressing (Don’t put in the freezer bag)

Place all the ingredients in the freezer bag.
*If you use pre-frozen chicken there is a layer of ice, so you do not need to add the water.

Can be cooked on the stove-top at medium heat for 15 minutes if the sauce is drained
after thawing
Can be baked in the oven for 35-40 minutes in the
sauce at 375 F.
Also, can be cooked in the crock-pot for 6-8 hours on low.

- Cook on low 6-8 hrs in the crock pot
- This can be cooked on the stove top at medium heat - I cook in the juice for 7-10 minutes, then drain the juice to brown the chicken. I then set the chicken aside and pour some soy sauce and brown sugar into the hot pan and stir it constantly until it becomes a glaze. I pour that over the chicken, and YUMMM!!
- serve with rice

Directions:Place all ingredients in bag and freeze. Thaw, then cook on low 8 hours. Serve with rice or on tortillas along with shredded cheddar and sour cream.We stacked corn tortillas, then chicken, then cheese, and repeat. Put a little guacamole on the very top.

Cook on low 6-8 hours. This is one of our favorites, but we have found that we need to salt and pepper a little more once it is mostly cooked. I shred the beef and let it sit in the juice on low for another hour... It has EXCELLENT flavor. We enjoy it served with large Egg Noodles. Honey chicken
6 chicken breasts
1tsp salt
1tsp pepper
1.5cups honey
1/3 cup ketchup
1cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oil
2tbsp minced garlic

Can be cooked on the stove-top for 15 minutes at medium heat if the sauce is drained
after thawing
Can be baked in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 375 F in the
sauce.
Also, can be cooked in the crock-pot for 6-8 hours on low.

155 comments:

Sure! Thanks for pointing it out! I will fix it now! -- Just for your own notes, I cook all recipes on low for 6-8 hours while I'm at work. I have also found, however, that all of the chicken recipes are equally delicious when baked in the oven for 35-40 minutes or when the sauces are drained and cooked on the stove-top for about 15 minutes. The beef recipes still need to be cooked all day, but I have liked having the versatility with the chicken recipes... It changes the consistency and flavor for some of them. Let me know if you want details on any specific recipe. Thanks for reading!!

Sounds silly, but need to know if you cook any of the meat before freezing? Doesn't sound like it, but want to make sure.This sounds awesome! As a homeschooling mom of 3 I think we have a home-ec project on our hands!Blessings!

These sound great! I was wondering, I noticed one of your recipes includes potatoes but I find freezing them changes the texture and isn't pleasant. Do you think the potatoes you can find at the store in the freezer section that are pre-blanched will work?

wowzers. I'm not usually impressed by freezer crockpot meals. They usually use cream cheese (delicious, but too high in fat to use all the time) or they have ingredients that are expensive or really out of the ordinary. You've got some good recipes that wont break the budget and my family will like. GREAT post!

Just finished making 5 of the meals listed!! I made two batches of each recipe, so I have 10 meals in the freezer ready for maternity leave or for when I go back to work after the baby is born!!!! YEAH!! Thanks so much!!

Well, you are *not supposed* to add it in the bag and add it when you cook the chicken, but I have actually been adding it in the bag, and I haven't noticed much of a difference! You are welcome to try it however you want, but like I said, I haven't noticed much of a difference!

I don't have a master shopping list that I have created because I don't always cook all of the meals at one time. Sometimes I do, sometimes I only make 5-6 of them. I usually just total up the number of chicken breast/roasts/etc, then jot down the spices and other ingredients that I don't have in my pantry at the time. A lot of things, like black beans and taco seasoning, are usually always in my pantry already, so I don't buy those often! Let me know if you create one! I'm sure everyone would love to use it! Maybe one of these days I will take the time to create one myself!

I am a bit confused. Do you put all of the raw ingredients in a bag and freeze then cook when needed? Or do you cook the meal and then freeze. You might have said but I missed it. I thank you for what sound like wonderful meals. Would you say most are on the healthy side? I am sure my husband will thank you also as he has been eating frozen meals from the store ( I call them card board )

I have experimented leaving the meat whole and cutting it up... I have learned that it cooks the same, but I have decided that I, personally, like it chopped better! It gives me more options on how to prepare it, too.

So Sorry!!! I meant to comment on this post, and instead clicked "remove"!! For everyone else, Here is the comment:

I did the food prep today and I did not take me long at all! I am so impressed with your recipes! Thanks! Even more impressed with my grocery bill. Am starting grad school next week, so between that, kids and work, cooking this way should really help. Life saver!

Can't wait to get started with this! I did the same with homemade pancakes and french toast. I spent aboyt two hours making them (from scratch) and then let the cool, put them in stacks of three, covered them with saran wrap and put them in freezer bags. Now my kids can have a nice healthy breakfast (without all the added stuff from the boxed version) within two minutes. Thanks for the dinner idea!!

OMG!!where have u been for the last 10 yrs?!?! Im so excited to do this as soon as my 3 kids are in school(5more sleeps) Im due to go back to work after a yr of maternity leave (I work evenings) and these will b perfect for dinners. THANK YOU!!!

I put each recipe in one bag. However, you could split them up, depending on how many people will be eating the meal and how keen you are on leftovers. We end up with TONS of leftovers from each meal, but we like to take those for lunches throughout the week.

I do! If I am lazy/busy/don't have everything in the house, I just put the meat in a tortilla with a little cheese on top. (still delicious!) If I am on top of things, I add guacamole, tomatoes, sour cream(or substitute plain greek yogurt). It's a great recipe! I hope you enjoy!

It depends on if it fits in the crock pot frozen or not! Some of them will fit in there while still frozen, and the meal still turns out great! If it doesn't fit, then defrost it! I haven't noticed a difference in quality either way.

I just have to say I stumbled upon this post and had to comment because yes you have awesome recipes but also SIC'EM bears! :-) I am actually wearing the shirt you have on in the pictures! And saw your hubby had a football shirt on.

Anyways my hubby and I are both Baylor Alums and just had to say hi! And thanks for the awesome recipes. Cannot wait to try this!

I'm trying desperately to start bulk cooking as I just moved to a small town and the drive to any big grocery stores is ridiculous. So glad I came across your blog because these are meals my family will actually eat! We have a family of 6 so it will probably only feed us one meal each but that's fine as long as it saves me time at the end of the day :) Thanks for posting!

I HATE putting shopping lists together. I usually forget to write something down, or I put everything in a strange order so I'm constantly having to go through my whole list when I'm at the store, and I usually end up walking up and down main aisles a couple times before I get everything on my list--that is, when I'm buying a lot, like you would for batch prepping all these yummy sounding meals!

SO!

I highly recommend checking out www.Ziplist.com. You make an account, then you can add personal recipes or online recipes to your personal recipe box. You can add your own tags to sort things (I like putting in tags like, "Slow cooker" or "Casserole", etc.), and you can add notes to the recipes (for example, "Make the Chicken Fajita Casserole with the left overs from this meal!" or the URL of the recipe). It also lets you email recipes to other people as well.

But the two things I love most about Ziplist is it lets you plan meals on a calendar which you can sync with your phone, and it generates shopping lists for you!!

You can go through your recipe box and add a bunch of recipes that you want to make for the week or month or whatever to your list. Then it'll sort your list by Dairy, Produce, Canned goods, etc.

It does a million other things as well (checking sales at stores near you, sorting lists based on specific store layouts, letting you scan UPCs with your camera phone to add exact products to your lists, etc.), so I would recommend at least checking it out.

Hi there! Just wondering how many meal you get out of one zip lock bag. I know you said 3 lunches and 3 dinners but is that per person? Or just 6 meals in one bag. Just trying I do the math for myself :)

I am wondering...most of these are for 4-6 servings, but you said still have left-overs... I typically have 5-7 at a meal (age 12& up)....so do you think I need to double them, or would we have plenty for a meal and maybe no left-overs ?

I made these all today thanks for the info. I have a 10 wk old son abd will be going back to work in a couple weeks. I do have one question in the picture I see lots of what looks like zucchini cut up but none of the recipes call for that. I really like your meals because you don't do any cooking before hand but there isn't a lot of veggies so was wondering if you had others you made or were they for sides?

You can just highlight and copy the shopping list - then paste it into your word processing program. I do this all the time with all kinds of things I see on blogs... don't know how computer literate you are so pls forgive if the following is "cut and paste for dummies" - put your cursor at the beginning of the list - hold the left button down, as you highlight the whole list. Then move mouse into the blue highlighted area and press the right button - you'll see a list of options, click on "copy" - then go to your word processing program. Once open, left button click on the blank page, then right button click and choose "paste".

If you boil your potatoes (whole) for about 15 minutes, let cool, then chop and add to your "freezer bag" the texture is normal when you cook your freezer meal. I had that weird texture issue when I started freezer meals and found that this method works. Also, red potatoes are really bad about having that weird texture or not fully done texture thing going on in freezer meals.

It does take a little extra time to boil them when preparing freezer stuff, but worth it in the end.

No one has issues with adding raw chicken with vegetables in the same bag and letting them sit in raw chicken juices. This to me just seems wrong to me. Anyone else agree. If I were to do this I would bag the meat seperate from the veggies. Am I being paranoid for nothing?

Does anyone else have the issue with Ziploc bags leaking? I seem to see this technique all over pinterest, but it has never worked for me. I always resort to similarly sized tupperware. I buy brand name Ziploc bags and if anything is warm, I wait for it to cool before adding it to the bag. Sooo I must be missing something?

Hi - It really depends on portion size. We make at least 6 total meals out of each bag. Some are more than others. Salsa chicken will last us (2 people) lunch and dinner for 5 days = 10 total meals. Same with the taco beef, beef burritos, and a few others.

It depends on which meal it is. Some would last for two entire meals for your whole family. Others would cover you for one meal. Salsa chicken, taco beef, beef burritos will last you at least two full meals for your family.

Most of the veggies in the picture went into a bar-b-que chicken recipe - I ended up not including that recipe here because we didn't really like that meal! I usually will freeze fresh veggies (so they aren't out of a can or already frozen when I buy them) and will steam them or saute them before we eat. Doesn't take much time, and they are already cut up and prepared before I cook them.

I use fresh or frozen chicken breasts... It all depends on what is cheaper at the time! I have no problem adding it all together because it all cooks together! Once you cook chicken, the potential for infection goes away. There is no risk in freezing/storing it together, as long as you cook it.

I love this idea and appreciate the grocery list BUT would be very expensive to buy all these ingredients ... Especially hormone free organic meat. How many meals would this be again? And how much is your grocery bill per month for your family?

I'm trying out 3 of your recipes and adding one of my own Filipino dish today! Been planning it all week and now we are on our way to the grocery store to get whatever we don't have in our pantry and fridge already. I'm a school teacher and I have to make dinner most nights after I get home, when I am so tired from hanging out with 20 some super energetic 7- and 8-year olds all day! This should be easy enough for my non-cooking husband who works from home, to do while I'm at school, LOL! Thank you!

Great idea! Friendly hint: poached chicken! Martha Stewart has a recipe and it's so easy my kids can do it. I make 8 chicken breast for the week. In a stock pot you add broth and seasonings, add chicken and bring to boil. Let boil for 3 minutes. Cover and remove from heat. 15 to 20 minutes later you"ll have the best chicken ever! Not dry, not shredded! Chop, dice, slice thin for sandwiches. It's awesome! Try using this kind of chicken for your dishes and you'll notice a flavorful chicken that isn't chewy and shredded! I bet you'll never put chicken in your crockpot again! LOVE these ideas!!! Just wanted to share the chicken idea, thx!

Great ideas!! Thank you for sharing! I just started following you. Congratulations on the baby! My husband and I also adopted our daughter. She is 11 now and even though is a struggle at times, it is the most rewarding thing we have ever done. We love her with all of our hearts! Hope everything is well with you and your family!

This is so awesome! I have made all of the recipes posted. I made half once in about an hour and another batch today. I found some organic frozen chopped onion and jarred minced garlic to save on prep time. I noticed a few more in your pictures that didn't have recipes listed. Do you have more? I've tried lost of crock pot recipes and these are the best (healthy, tasty and easy)so far. Thank you! Thank you!

I've done freezer meals for awhile, and I've never had an issue with adding raw chicken & veggies together. I freeze them right away, and, when ready, put them in the crockpot together. If you were assembling the recipe that morning, and using raw meats, it would be the same type of thing...:) Good luck!

I really like the meals, (not usual for me and many crockpot meals) one tip, I love your full freezer pic, but in the past I have had an issue getting the bottom meal unstuck from the grates on the shelf. I read a tip I thought I would pass on, slip an new floor tile, you can get them individually at the dollar store in our area or at any hardware store, it fills the gaps and no more stuck bags.

HI, These look fab, just a bit confused when it comes to cooking on the stove top, you say to drain the sauce after thawing. Do you mean empty contents into a sieve? Do you not lose all the herbs and spices. If you just put the thawed contents into a pan, does the extra moisture not evaporate? Off to choose and make a list! Thank

HI ALL!! I'm sorry I've been MIA from the comments for a while. We have been traveling all over the country visiting family and making the most of time off with the baby! I will respond to a few of the recurring questions:

- It is TOTALLY fine to add everything - sauces, spices, and all - into the bags to freeze. Just dump EVERYTHING out of the bag into the crock-pot to cook

- There is no problem to "cook longer" as long as it is only on the "warm" setting for the extra time. Some of the chicken dishes will dry out if they are cooked too long, so try to be mindful of this!

- I have not experienced a weird coloration or texture to potatoes when I freeze them. I use the "new" (red) potatoes in the recipes that call for them.

- For the recipes that I cook in the oven, I cook them at 350 or 375 for about 25-35 minutes, depending on thickness of meats. Always practice safe handling and cooking measures when cooking poultry!!

- With the Hawaiian/honey chicken, I tend to add quite a bit more soy sauce and brown sugar when cooking it on the stove top. I also drain sauces at the end of cooking to "brown" my chicken. I then make a sauce to pour over the chicken once it is cooked. I place the chicken in a separate dish, then using the same pan, I put soy sauce and brown sugar and briskly stir it until it thickens, then pour it over the chicken... It becomes sort of like a glaze. It's really tasty!!

- I am working on some additional recipes to add here for bulk cooking. They will not all be crock-pot meals. I'm excited about adding soon!

I came here through Pinterest and have added 3 of your recipes to my plan for next week. I have the roast for burritos in my crockpot as I type this. These look like good recipes and are so simple.

As for all the questions regarding serving size. I've found that you really need to know how much meat your family can consume at one meal and adjust recipes based on your experience. If a roast is being served as a roast it won't go as far as a roast that's shredded and served in tortillas or on a salad. The servings all depend on the people eating and their appetite.

The chicken fajita recipe here sounds better than what I made, but I wanted to bring it up just for someone on an extremely tight budget. I took boneless breasts that I had frozen beforehand, added it to a bag of frozen pepper blend (in freezer at Dollar Tree - $1), and a fajitas seasoning mix. (If I didn't have it on hand already, I would have used the same herbs listed here.) I put the frozen veggies on the bottom of the crock pot, placed the chicken on top, and sprinkled with the fajitas package, starting with 1/3 packet, then after it was completely cooked, i tasted it and added more until i thought it was better, and let it cook another 30 minutes. My husband was so excited he begged me to make it again -- this from a man who never compliments and barely likes chicken! Also, a wonderful tip I was given in the past was, if you know that a certain canned item will be used for a certain recipe, take a Sharpie and 'mark' it for that recipe. Now you won't accidentally use it. As for packets, tape it to the freezer bag! HTH!

Just a note to let you know that we have cooked 4 of the freezer bags so far and the crock pot times seem to be a bit long. The first few were all over cooked within a few hours. We switched to just 2-3 hours and that did the trick. I dont know if anyone else had this issue or just us?

Ive packed all of the meals and have gotten through a few but something id like to suggest that I did with the Italian chicken. I defrosted the bag stuck the ingredients & dressing in a casserole dish (I poked holes and sliced some slits in the chicken because I like chicken more tender) I covered the dish with foil and popped in the oven. After it was done I cut it all into small pieces, tossed it in speghetti noodles added some oregano, garlic salt, parm cheese and a dash more dressing and it was quite delish! Thanks!

I'm going to take the time to cut some of your recipes in half or 1/3 because there are only two of us to feed, and I don't really want leftovers. If my son/grandkids come over, I can just pull out two bags or cook from fresh staples. I have a new Food Saver vacuum sealing machine, and those bags can be cooked in, so I won't even have to remove the food from a plastic bag, and I won't have any frost or freezer burn, ever, because all the air will be gone from my bags. I can just pop the whole bag into my slow cooker and not have it to wash. This method of freezer cooking is perfect for non-cooking husbands when wives are away or unable to cook as I will be in a few weeks. I intend to adapt some of my own recipes to this method and teach him some basics, too. Thank you for all the time you put into this; it is enormously helpful!

I'm super excited an a little bit nervous to try this!! :) curious tho...it is just my husband and me and our 13 month old! SO I was wondering if I split the recipes into two bags do I still cook it on low for 6-8 hours?

All the recipes have flesh. I only eat that about once or twice a week and no beef since that is the largest source (the methane gas they expel) of greenhouse gas, NOT automobiles!! Can these be tweaked to healthier vegetables, too? Any idea which cooking method uses the least electricity?

I would feel guilty if I didn't thank you very much for blogging your meals with recipes and ingredients. I am working mom with a husband and 2 kids and recently found that crock meals have been my saving grace along with mass prepping. The difficulty was coming up with good recipes although I have tons of cookbooks. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I think your recipes are terrific and I am definitely going to make some of them. I would offer one comment about putting them in the slow cooker frozen. I'm sure the quality of the food and taste are not affected seriously by doing this BUT the safety of the food is. The slow cooker takes too long to come up to full temperature and in the meantime dangerous bacteria can develop. It's better to take it out of the freezer the night before and put in the cooker thawed in the morning.

Thanks for being there.

Just one other comment about your comment form itself - the captcha tags are really hard to read because the background is too dark.

Hello, I was just on here looking for something alil different maybe a new twist to do w/ this large pork butt (that my hubby came out of the store w/ when he only went to get pork steak & ribs since we were grilling that day. Note: NEVER let a man go to the store alone, especially starved!!!) I do know I want to put it in the crockpot & that's how I came across yur page. I want to say THANK Goodness!!! Love Love this ideal & just wanted to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I so have the same problem w/ always finding the time, this is a brilliant ideal that will make my cooking so much easier. I will def try this & hopefully u will post more in the future! I will now be looking on here for more menu ideals of this same process. Nothing I can use now & it's only 4:45 am guessing I will just do the usual. Just know I am Very pleased I ran across this though Very good job, Thanks for posting! I wish You & Yur Family all the BEST & GOD Bless!

If you do the math, for the recipes listed only as "chicken breasts" and not lbs. of chicken, plus the recipes that call for lbs of chicken, all together for all the recipes for the grocery list (as listed above) it's around 14lbs of chicken.

I'm going to the grocery tomorrow 12/15/2014. I'm not going to double the recipes. So I'm only going to purchase enough Ingredients for each recipe. I will post the cost so everybody knows. My cupboards are bare so I need about everything except for salt, pepper, sugar, and Apple cider vinegar.

Firstly, these recipes and the list are great. However, if you both work full time and are both busy, why don't you take turns cooking? I mean, if you like cooking, great! But you said you feel guilty. Don't feel guilty. Maybe if you laid around the house all day, sure, but you said you work. Don't feel bad!

THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! We just made 1 batch of each meal! Unlike most commenters, we do not have kids to feed. So, I adjusted the shopping list and recipes for 2 people on a budget to get one dinner and one lunch from each meal. I added in "my" grocery list exactly how much you will need. If you are like us, you may have a 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of olive oil (just random examples) left in your pantry and will therefor not need to buy it. My intention is not to rewrite these awesome recipes or grocery lists, but to add a few tweaks for people with smaller families :) Also, we go to Winco and just buy EXACTLY how much we need of everything. So this is why the shopping list has that layout.

Beef Burritos(serves 5-6)• 1 London Broil or top round roast (about 2 lbs)• 1 diced onion• 4 garlic cloves, minced (or 2 tsps.)• 2 tbsp. whole peppercorns• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar• 2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce – Use just 1 pepper!! (It’s in a can.)• 1 ½ tsp chili powder (you can adjust this according to your taste)1. Add all the above ingredients into a freezer bag.2. When you are ready to cook the meal, dump the contents of the bag into the crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-7 hours.3. When the meat is cooked, you will need to strain the juices and add the juice back to the slow cooker. (You want to remove the peppercorns and onions.) Shred the meat and add back to the juice in the slow cooker for about 30 minutes. This is one of our favorite recipes. My kids eat it as long as we have leftovers.

Chicken Fajitas(serves 5-6)• 4 chicken breasts sliced• 2 peppers (one red, one green)• 1 onion sliced• 1/2 cup chicken broth• taco seasoning packet (or 2 tbsps.)• 1 tsp. chili powder• 1/2 tsp. paprika• 1 tsp. saltYou will also need tortillas, cheese, cream, etc.1. Put all the ingredients in a large freezer bag. (Make sure you label the bag with instructions.)2. When it’s time to cook it, dump it all in your slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.3. When it’s cooked, shred the meat and add it back to the pepper mixture and serve on warm tortillas and your favorite toppings.Dijon chicken(4-5 servings)• 4 chicken whole breasts• 1 cup chicken broth (or 1 cup water & 1 tbsp. bouillon)• 1 onion, chopped• 2 tbsps. dijon mustard• 3 cloves garlic, chopped• 2 bay leaves• ½ – 1 tsp thyme (depending on how much you like thyme)Can be cooked on the stove-top for 15 minutes if the sauce is drained after thawing, or can be baked in the oven for 35-40 minutes in the sauce. Also, can be cooked in the crock-pot for 6-8 hours on low.

2. Can be cooked on the stove-top at medium heat for 15 minutes if the sauce is drained after thawing. Can be baked in the oven for 35-40 minutes in the sauce at 375 F.Also, can be cooked in the crock-pot for 6-8 hours on low.

2. This can be cooked on the stove top at medium heat - I cook in the juice for 7-10 minutes, and then drain the juice to brown the chicken. I then set the chicken aside and pour some soy sauce and brown sugar into the hot pan and stir it constantly until it becomes a glaze. Pour that over the chicken.

1. Place all ingredients in bag and freeze. Cook on low for 8 hours. Serve with rice or on tortillas along with shredded cheddar and sour cream.We stacked corn tortillas, then chicken, then cheese, and repeat. Put a little guacamole on the very top.

1. Cook on low 6-8 hours. This is one of our favorites, but we have found that we need to salt and pepper a little more once it is mostly cooked. I shred the beef and let it sit in the juice on low for another hour... It has EXCELLENT flavor. Served with large Egg Noodles.

1. Can be cooked on the stove-top for 15 minutes at medium heat after thawingCan be baked in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 375 F in the sauce.2. Also, can be cooked in the crock-pot for 6-8 hours on low.

3. Serve with any sides you like! Suggestion: with sweet potatoes and steamed veggies.

I'm so excited I made these yesterday and my first one in growing in the crockpot tomorrow! Mine didn't seem to have as much liquid as yours though and I'm a little worried it won't be enough to cook in in the crockpot. After I thaw and put it in do you think I should just add more of the base liquid from the recipe or add water?! I may have put to much chicken idk! Lol all meat should be covered in the crockpot though right?! Thanks again for these!!

This may seem like a silly question, but do you thaw the frozen meals before putting them in the crock pot or can you just pull them out of the freezer and put them in? (I'm planning on cooking them on low while I'm at work)

I did not have a chance to scroll through all the comments to see if someone asked this questions already, but you mention $21/week cost and then you mention $4/helping. Can you elaborate on what you mean by "helping"?

I just added them up and its BOTH pounds and breasts. Some recipes use the "pounds" and some the "breasts" so she just kept them as-is when making the list instead of converting them to one measurement. Hope that helps =)

To those asking about putting raw veggies in with raw meats, you're right. Typically you will put your meat in a separate freezer bag and the rest of it in a different one. Just keep them together and label them 1 of 2, 1 of 3,etc. If you have shredded cheese, you can even put this in its own freezer bag and label it as well. Further, a neat trick is to use Sharpie markers to earmark certain Pantry items such as canned foods by labeling them as well. For example, if you have a can of tomatoes that you will be putting with your chili, then label it as Chili. This way you do not accidentally use that can for something else.Meanwhile, I have heard of many people putting the meat together and not having any problems. Maybe this is because it all gets cooked, I don't know. But if you don't feel comfortable doing it, then just don't.

To those asking about putting raw veggies in with raw meats, you're right. Typically you will put your meat in a separate freezer bag and the rest of it in a different one. Just keep them together and label them 1 of 2, 1 of 3,etc. If you have shredded cheese, you can even put this in its own freezer bag and label it as well. Further, a neat trick is to use Sharpie markers to earmark certain Pantry items such as canned foods by labeling them as well. For example, if you have a can of tomatoes that you will be putting with your chili, then label it as Chili. This way you do not accidentally use that can for something else.Meanwhile, I have heard of many people putting the meat together and not having any problems. Maybe this is because it all gets cooked, I don't know. But if you don't feel comfortable doing it, then just don't.